Before I talk about Neel Mukherjee's Booker Prize short-listed The lives of others, I want to briefly mention the experience of reading it on the Kindle. I probably haven't told you my little reading rule of thumb before, which is that I aim to buy Australian books in print, and overseas books electronically. It's my measured foray into … Continue reading Neel Mukherjee, The lives of others (Review)
21st century literature
Carmel Bird, Fair game: A Tasmanian memoir (Review)
As I started reading this next fl smalls offering, an essay this time, I was reminded of one of my favourite Australian writers, Elizabeth von Arnim. Von Arnim was a novelist, but she also wrote several pieces of non-fiction, including her delightful non-autobiography, All the dogs of my life. The similarity stems from the fact that both writers play … Continue reading Carmel Bird, Fair game: A Tasmanian memoir (Review)
Paul McDermott, Fragments of the hole (Review)
"Paul McDermott DAAS" by Canley. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. If you're an Australian, you are sure to know who Paul McDermott is. If you are not Australian, you may not, and this book in fact would not enlighten you, because nowhere on the book is it made clear that "this" Paul McDermott … Continue reading Paul McDermott, Fragments of the hole (Review)
Paul Hetherington and Jen Webb, Watching the world (Review)
I hope it's not condescending to suggest, at this time of year, that a book would make a good Christmas present? I know some publishers, and fair enough too, choose around now to release certain types of books deemed to be good gift material. That, however, is not the case with this book, Watching the world, … Continue reading Paul Hetherington and Jen Webb, Watching the world (Review)
Caroline de Costa, Double madness (Review)
I'm not a crime reader as most of you know, and in fact most of the crime novels I've read here have been review copies sent to me. Caroline de Costa's Double madness is one of these. I accepted it for a couple of reasons. It's a debut novel by a doctor, indeed a professor … Continue reading Caroline de Costa, Double madness (Review)
Emily Bitto, The strays (Review)
Let me start by saying I really enjoyed reading Emily Bitto's The strays. It was scheduled for my reading group the day after my return from Tasmania, and I suddenly found myself in the last day of my Tasmanian holiday without having started the book. Wah! I read it in two days, helped by several … Continue reading Emily Bitto, The strays (Review)
Don Miller, Will to win: The West at play (Review)
Sport is probably not the first subject you expect to find here, but it is in fact the focus of my latest read, Don Miller's Will to win: The West at play. Published by independent Melbourne press, Hybrid Publishers, it was offered to me after my Monday Musings post a few months ago on Australian Rules in literature. … Continue reading Don Miller, Will to win: The West at play (Review)
Prison post: Letters of support for Peter Greste
If you're Australian, you'll know who Peter Greste is. If you're not, you may know. He was one of three Al Jazeera English journalists* who were arrested in Cairo in late 2013 for "spreading false news, belonging to a terrorist organisation and operating without a permit". It was a ridiculous charge and we all thought … Continue reading Prison post: Letters of support for Peter Greste
Danielle Wood, Mothers Grimm (Review)
If you thought from the title of Danielle Wood's latest novel, Mothers Grimm, that it comprises a retelling of fairytales you'd be right - and wrong. Right, because the stories contained within do springboard from specific fairytales, but wrong if you expect the new stories to be retellings. The wordplay on the title - Mothers … Continue reading Danielle Wood, Mothers Grimm (Review)
Paddy O’Reilly, Peripheral vision: Stories (Review)
The title of Paddy O'Reilly's latest collection of short stories, Peripheral vision, comes from the story "Restraints", in which the narrator, standing in a robotics lab where things have gone awry, says: ... and I caught again a flicker in my peripheral vision. It's a good title for the book because the stories are about … Continue reading Paddy O’Reilly, Peripheral vision: Stories (Review)
Whispering Gums 